About Us

The Jackson County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society formed in the 1980. The newly elected officers for the chapter consisted of:

    • President, Robert Wiseman
    • Vice-President, Ruth Hayth
    • Secretary, Alice Louderback
    • Treasurer, Louise Hankey

The first newsletter was published in March of 1981 (1981-03 Mar (Vol.1 No.1)) and list 31 members for the year 1981.

We meet on the second Saturday of every month at the Jackson City Library (Potter Room). Meetings start at 10:30 a.m. and we normally have a program right after our business meeting.

County History

On January 12, 1816, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Jackson County. Residents named the county in honor of Andrew Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812. Jackson also eventually became president of the United States. Most of Jackson County’s early residents were Welsh migrants.

Jackson County is located in southeastern Ohio. It is predominantly rural, with less than two percent of the county’s 420 square miles consisting of urban areas. The county seat is Jackson. With a population of 6,184 people, Jackson was the county’s largest community in 2000. Unlike many of Ohio’s more rural counties, Jackson County experienced a significant increase in population—roughly eight percent—between 1990 and 2000, raising the total number of residents to 32,641 people. The county averages almost seventy-eight people per square mile.

The largest employers in Jackson County are manufacturing businesses, with retail positions and farming almost tied for a distant second. The county is best known for its abundant apple orchards and hosts an apple festival every year. During the early to mid-nineteenth century, county residents earned money through coal mining, iron production, and salt processing.

Jackson is the county seat. Established in 1817, residents named the town after Andrew Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812 and an eventual president of the United States. The community grew slowly, having only 297 inhabitants in 1840. In 1846, Jackson contained four churches, approximately seven stores, and a single newspaper office. Over the next forty years, the town grew more quickly, attaining a population of 3,021 people in 1880. By 1880, two railroad lines passed through the community, helping to spur economic and population growth. In 1886, two newspaper offices, eight churches, and two banks existed in Jackson. The largest businesses in the town were the Star Furnace Company and the Globe Iron Company with thirty employees apiece. Both firms used local coal and iron ore deposits to make iron products.